"Well, Lady Verdier openly criticized her mother-in-law for not being able to have children and even suggested that she should take a mistress."
"My goodness, I heard about that too. But apparently, the one who can't perform is the husband."
"Is that all? A close friend of mine got married, and her husband kept interfering with how she should serve him at night!"
At the ballroom, the ladies, shielding their mouths with fans, were enthusiastically discussing a single topic. I found myself caught in the middle of them, sipping champagne.
"I've been married for five years, and I still have to undergo daily dress inspections. Every morning, the Count comes to check to ensure I don't tarnish his dignity."
"I have to report on the amount of food the Count eats every day. Soon, I might have to report how many grams of sauce he had on his meat."
Under the chandelier, the beautifully dressed ladies sighed deeply at each other, their faces clouded with worry. They all looked as if they were on the verge of tears. They had fallen in love and married, but there was something they couldn't overcome: the in-laws. Family, but not close enough to be considered family. One of the ladies, who had been sighing deeply, looked at me, who had been silent the whole time.
"But you, Lady Raphaëon, haven't said anything."
Her words seemed to trigger everyone, and they all looked at me with bright eyes, as if to say, "Why don't you share your story?"
"Isn't it almost a year since you got married?"
Has it been a year already? I hadn't realized.
"The Raphaëon family has Lady Gloria, the former Duchess."
"Goodness, she's still in good health?"
Just hearing the name Gloria made everyone shiver as if they had seen a ghost.
"Moreover, His Excellency the Duke is so stern. We're lucky our husbands are affectionate, at least..."
"His Excellency and Lady Gloria..."
"Goodness, I remember now, the Raphaëon family also has Lady Cersia, right?"
"Oh! The Duke's sister..."
Excuse me, I haven't said anything yet. Why are you all looking at me with such pity? I watched the ladies who were spinning their own stories slowly. Then, I put down my empty champagne glass and spoke.
"Lady Gloria and Lady Cersia are indeed there, and His Excellency is indeed stern."
Everyone sighed and expressed their sympathy. The ladies' faces showed a relieved smile, as if to say, "At least I'm better off than her." People who need to feel superior by putting others down. People who feel reassured by others' misfortunes. It was a common sight at such gatherings. Just as I was about to speak, I felt a hand wrap around my waist.
"There you are, my lady."
A familiar scent and black hair tickled my cheek.
"Goodness, Your Excellency the Duke...!"
At the appearance of my supposedly stern husband, all the ladies hurriedly greeted him. However, he ignored them and only held me tightly in his arms.
"I've been looking for you. I can't breathe when I can't see you for a moment."
To his calm pouting, I pushed his cheek with my palm, as I was used to.
"It's ticklish. And there are so many people watching, so let go."
Then, a small child popped out from the right.
"Your Excellency! Mom said it's ticklish! Hurry up and let go!"
Celsius Sultan Raphaëon, the heir of the Raphaëon family and my legal son, was tugging at Theo's uniform, trying to pull him away from me.
"Really, what kind of behavior is this? Theo."
Then, a woman with red hair flicked Theo away and clicked her tongue. She then smiled widely and stretched out her arms to me.
"...Sister Cersia. Sister, let go, it's ticklish."
It was Cersia Jane Raphaëon, Theo's sister.
"Where is it ticklish? I'll scratch it for you!"
Behind Cersia, who was hugging me tightly, a much smaller girl popped out.
Aillette Raphaëon, the only surviving member of Theo's collateral bloodline.
"Aillette, I told you to call me Lady, not sister."
And Theo's uncle, Phineas Ken Raphaëon. Finally...
"Why are you causing such a commotion in the ballroom?"
Lady Gloria Em Raphaëon, the former Duchess, appeared, looking as healthy as ever, despite her white hair. The ladies who were with us turned pale and couldn't lift their heads at the sudden gathering of the Raphaëon family.
"It's tiring to attend a ball at my age."
Gloria naturally came to my side, grabbed my arm, and sighed deeply. I supported her, pretending to be concerned, and smiled faintly.
"You still look so healthy."
"When I come, everyone trembles. What's so scary about this old woman?"
Gloria pointed at the ladies who were bowing deeply in front of her and clicked her tongue. Indeed, as soon as she appeared, everyone in the ballroom was looking at us.
Gloria called me with a voice full of affection.
"So, before you follow me around, why don't you choose?"
With a soft laugh, Gloria continued.
"Would you like a piece of Raphaëon land, or a mine? You saved us, so I'll give you what you want."
"I really don't need anything."
"If you keep refusing, I might just give you everything the Raphaëon family has."
At Gloria's words, everyone around us gasped. I could feel their admiring gazes. I looked at the in-laws standing firmly on either side of me, their faces full of concern.
'...I need to get a divorce.'
My in-laws are too obsessed with me.
In the spring, when all living things come to life, I was dying. My husband, Siegfried, who was sitting in a chair next to the bed, asked with a worried voice.
As if he had been waiting for this day.
"If you're going to die, just die. Why are you still breathing, trying to live?"
My husband, who had said he loved me, who had confessed that he would make me happy, who had smiled shyly in front of me, was nowhere to be found.
Siegfried's lips, which had always brought me happiness, now said,
"You have to die so that the inheritance can come to me. I have mountains of debt. You love me, don't you? So you can die for me, can't you?"
Siegfried brushed my sweat-soaked hair from my forehead. I wanted to get up and slap that thick-skinned face, but my body wouldn't move.
Siegfried laughed as if he could see through my thoughts.
"It's because of the curse. They said the curse could kill you. It was expensive, but this was the best way to kill you without evidence."
Even though your brown hair and cool green eyes haven't changed, you have changed. A tear of despair, hanging at the corner of my eye, fell.
At that moment, the bedroom door opened.
A disappointed voice followed, as if disappointed that I was still alive. Goosebumps ran down my spine.
Turning my shocked eyes, I saw my stepmother and my half-sister, Reina, smiling.
"You take after your father, with a long life."
"Don't look at me like that. Your long life was shortened by your father."
They were my family, who had always smiled kindly at me. They had cried with me when I was sad and laughed with me when I was happy.
"If you hadn't written a will leaving your inheritance to me, this wouldn't have happened. ...What a pity."
Her red lips, stained with greed, curled into a snake-like smile.
"We could have had a good mother-daughter relationship."
"Mom, are we going to be rich now?"
Reina laughed. Although she was a half-sister brought in by my stepmother, I had treated her like a real sister. Siegfried approached Reina and gently wrapped his arms around her waist, then kissed her left cheek lovingly.
"Of course, my princess. You've suffered so much. It's all over today."
"I'm fine, Siegfried. I trusted you."
What? Reina called my husband's name affectionately. My lower lip trembled slightly. My heart pounded throughout my body.
'No, it can't be... It can't be what I'm thinking, can it?'
Reina turned her head as if reading my thoughts and laughed loudly.
"You really thought Siegfried was your husband?"
"Siegfried married you at my request, silly sister. He was just pretending to love you!"
Siegfried kissed Reina's neck as if licking sweet honey, laughing as if to support her words. Reina pulled Siegfried's head forcefully and sneered.
"How stupid. You didn't even know I was waiting for the day you would die."
No, it can't be. He definitely loved me...! But in his eyes, which were gazing at Reina with desire, I saw nothing of myself.
The loving husband, the kind stepmother, the gentle younger sister. Everything?
My heart ached. It felt suffocating, and I wanted to bite my tongue and die from the anger rising within me.
My stepmother approached me, who couldn't move, with a small cushion.
"We'll take good care of your inheritance, so don't worry."
Without changing her expression, my stepmother pressed the cushion firmly over my nose and mouth. I couldn't breathe. In my eyes, which were struggling for air, I saw Siegfried laughing, Reina almost lying on the sofa, and my stepmother, who was killing me without a hint of guilt.
'I won't forget, even in death.'
Tears of anger streamed down my face. My vision grew dark. And in the midst of the pain, I heard Reina's laughter as I died.
I died. Or so I thought. But I came back to life. Not just back to life, but to the past, before I inherited the fortune and married Siegfried. I don't know why I came back to life, but if this is an opportunity, I can't let it slip away.
'I have to protect my life and my inheritance.'
I can't report the three of them for something that hasn't happened yet. But in this life, I won't do what they want.
'I'll take what they want and crush them, making them bow at my feet.'
To do that, I need someone to protect me and my inheritance, someone who can give me the power I need.
"I have a proposal for Your Excellency."
"Exactly one year. Marry me for one year."
It was a matter-of-fact voice for someone talking about marriage. It was a sudden proposal for him, but for me, it was a last lifeline.
A man with a striking appearance, so handsome it could make one's jaw drop, looked at me from the opposite sofa, his chin resting on his hand. His hair was black like the darkness that swallows everything, and his eyes were red like blood. He was so tall that I had to look up even in heels, and his broad, triangular shoulders were so imposing that they seemed threatening just to look at. His arms and thighs were so muscular that they seemed to strain against his uniform.
He was none other than Duke Théodore Dain Raphaëon, the "rumor" himself. The Raphaëon family was the first to be granted the title of Duke for their contributions to the rise of the Castor Empire under the former emperor. They are the closest family to the royal family, always at the forefront in times of war or rebellion. Yes, I decided to use this man to get what I wanted. When he leaned forward, his muscles seemed to bulge out of his uniform.
"We're strangers, so you didn't come here because you love me and want to marry me. And since you've heard the rumors about me, you didn't come here hoping for love."
'You're quick on the uptake.'
"Since you came here for something, don't waste my time. Speak up."
If looks could kill, I would have killed him a thousand times over.
I shivered at the memories that surfaced and clenched my fists.
"...My stepmother, my half-sister, and the man I loved are going to kill me."
"Sounds like a nightmare, my lady."
Just like that. No, I need to calm down. I need this man.
"They're going to kill me and take my inheritance."
At my confident answer, Théodore laughed softly.
"There's no need to worry about something that hasn't happened yet. I've heard you inherited a vast fortune, but you seem to worry a lot. Your worries are just unfounded fears."
Yes, if it were just unfounded fears, how wonderful. But for me, it was a real past.
"Your proposal was interesting, but I'll pretend I didn't hear it."
Duke Théodore Raphaëon, a war enthusiast obsessed with blood and slaughter. The current Duke sent his heir, 'Celsius Sultan Raphaëon,' to the countryside under the pretext of convalescence and neglected him, earning the reputation of a savage. He had forcibly married a lady who had persistently followed him, but they divorced after less than two months. His ex-wife, who received a substantial settlement, disappeared, saying he was the worst man. According to rumors, he had never visited his wife's bedroom, not even for the wedding night.
'A man who has no interest in wealth, to the point where he doesn't need to covet my inheritance, and a man who has no interest in women, to the point where he didn't even consummate the marriage.'
"Go back to your mansion, drink warm milk, and go to sleep."
He was exactly the man I needed.
'Except for his terrible personality.'
Théodore stood up from the sofa, pulling the bell cord to mock me. Yes, I already knew what kind of person you are. I grabbed Théodore's hand nonchalantly, despite his mockery.
"Your Excellency needs a second wife, doesn't he?"
The reason he left the duchy and stayed at the Raphaëon mansion in the capital was simple: to find a nominal second wife.
'Around this time, he must have been struggling with the emperor's plan to marry him to a young princess.'
Théodore looked at his captured hand and frowned, then quickly pulled it away. In his haste, his finger was scratched by my ring, but he didn't seem to notice.
'Does he dislike women or physical contact?'
I looked at Théodore's slightly pale face and apologized.
"I'm sorry for grabbing you."
"Further conversation is a waste of time. Go back, my lady."
Théodore's eyes flashed predatorily, but strangely, I wasn't afraid.
'Anyway, if I back down here, death is all that awaits me.'
I fiddled with the ring that had scratched Théodore's finger and smiled faintly.
"Would the emperor think the same?"
"The emperor is pushing for your marriage to the young seventh princess. If not me, you would have to marry the young princess who is still in the academy. Is that acceptable?"
Théodore's eyes narrowed.
How do I know? Because I've already heard and experienced it all in the past.
"Would you rather I go back, drink warm milk, and go to sleep?"
I smiled brightly and pointed to the opposite sofa. Théodore's face hardened like a statue. He glared at me intensely for a long time before sitting back down on the sofa.
'Yes, I knew bringing up the princess would make you accept my proposal.'
In the past, he had hated the idea of marrying into the royal family. I smiled softly at Théodore, who was acting exactly as I had predicted.
"Whoever spread that rumor needs to have their mouth sewn shut."
Théodore nervously unbuttoned his collar, and the murderous tone in his voice made my shoulders shrink.
"Correction. It's not the young seventh princess, but the fourth princess."
"The emperor is pushing for your marriage to the fourth princess, Princess Dordalea."
What? In the past, it was definitely the young seventh princess. Princess Dordalea? Princess Dordalea was born weak and never left her sickbed, and in the past, she died from her illness. I was taken aback, and Théodore nodded as if understanding.
"They say she has recovered from her illness."
No, it was definitely the young seventh princess. I remember her crying at a social party, saying she didn't want to marry a scary old man. I pondered the memory but dismissed it. After all, what mattered to me was not which princess Théodore would marry.
"In that case, I'm even more necessary."
As I extended my index finger confidently, the long lashes cast shadows over his red eyes. Looking at Théodore's face, which was now serious, I said firmly,
"After that, a clean divorce."